Olefins can be used as raw materials or feedstocks in a variety of industrial processes, such as in the production of plastics, fatty acids, detergents, oils, and the like. Conventional olefinic feedstocks are often derived from petroleum or petroleum products. In some cases, olefins are derived from cracking of petroleum as hydrocarbon streams that are mixtures of olefins, saturated hydrocarbons, and oxygenates. Alternatively, mixtures of alpha olefins and internal olefins having a broad range of carbon numbers are produced by catalytic oligomerization of ethylene or propylene (either of which is typically derived from petroleum). In each case, to obtain an olefin having a desired carbon number or range of carbon numbers, substantial downstream processing can be required to isolate a desired product from a mixture, e.g. chemical separation and/or distillation fractionation. The degree and presence of branching in olefins derived by cracking or through oligomerization of ethylene or propylene is highly catalyst dependent and can vary from batch to batch in some cases. Olefins produced from petroleum can contain sulfur and aromatic compounds, which are environmentally undesirably impurities.
There is a need for renewable olefinic feedstocks that are not derived from fossil fuels. Furthermore, there is a need for alternate olefinic feedstocks, e.g. olefinic feedstocks that include no detectable amounts of sulfur or aromatic compounds. In addition, there is a need for methylated olefinic feedstocks, e.g. methylated olefinic feedstocks in which the methylation position is controlled.